Here’s an all-around bar that goes anywhere with ease. I’ve taken it to school dinners, church suppers, and outdoor picnics. The almond paste adds a distinctive dimension that gives the bars a touch of exotic appeal. Canned almond paste can be purchased at most grocery stores. Make sure you buy almond paste, not its similar cousin, marzipan. Food authorities do not always agree on the exact difference between the two, but generally speaking almond paste contains a higher ratio of ground almonds to sugar than marzipan.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 20 bars

　　

Crust

2/3 cup (about 11 tablespoons) chilled unsalted butter

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　2 cups all-purpose flour

　　Pinch of salt

　　

Filling

1 (13-ounce) jar high-quality peach preserves (such as Bon Maman)

　　4 cups thinly sliced peaches, thawed and drained, if frozen

　　

Topping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

　　1/4 cup sugar

　　1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter

　　1 (8-ounce) can almond paste

　　1 cup sliced almonds

　　

Step 1

TO MAKE THE CRUST AND FILLING: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with butter or cooking spray. In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the 2/3 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 cups flour, and salt until crumbly. Press into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes (the crust may not look browned; remove it from the oven anyway). Spread peach jam evenly over the warm crust. Arrange the peaches evenly on top.

　　

Step 2

TO MAKE THE TOPPING: In a bowl, stir together the 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar until evenly combined. Using your hands, work the 1/4 cup butter and almond paste into the flour-sugar mixture until it is crumbly. (Or pulse the flour, sugar, butter, and almond paste until crumbly in the food processor—no need to wash it—used to make the crust.) Spread the topping evenly over the peaches and sprinkle with almonds.

　　

Step 3

Bake until the topping is lightly browned, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the bars cool completely before cutting into squares.

　　

variations

Step 4

For a lightning-fast alternative, spread the jam over the crust, omit the fruit layer entirely, and sprinkle on the topping and the almonds. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

　　

Step 5

For Raspberry-Almond Bars, substitute raspberry jam for the peach and top with 2 cups of fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) raspberries.

　　Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved.A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café.  Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances.Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.